The Newton County GOP is hosting its second annual Second Amendment skeet and trap shoot competition and barbecue banquet dinner Oct. 5 at the South River Gun Club, 5205 Ga. Highway 212 Covington.

The all-day event will feature skeet and trap competitions, a self-defense firearms training course, live- fire exhibitions, booths set up by manufacturers Glock, FN (Fabrique Nationale) Herstal USA and Heckler and Koch, and a barbecue banquet dinner featuring guest speaker U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta), who is running for U.S. Senate, said organizer Bill Perugino.

The event starts at 10 a.m. The skeet and trap competitions cost $40 for two rounds of shooting, with trophies for the top three scorers in each competition. Training in skeet and trap will also be available.

New this year will be a self-defense firearms training course, taught by retired Covington Police firearms instructor Arvo Bowen, Police Chief Stacey Cotton and other officers. The course will include classroom-style training along with a live-fire portion; ammunition is being provided by Atlanta Arms and Ammo in Social Circle. Lunch will also be provided.

There will be two classes, one from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. and one from 1-5 p.m., with lunch at 1 p.m.; during lunch, there will be a panel discussion on the ramifications of the use of deadly force, featuring DeKalb County Sheriff Thomas Brown, Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown, and Cotton.

The class will cost $75 for a single person, $135 for a couple, and $190 for families (this includes everyone in an immediate family).

There will be four live-fire exhibitions, featuring Dave and Brook Sevigny, the daughter of state Sen. Rick Jeffares (R-Locust Grove), the FN Herstal USA’s professional team, Heckler and Koch’s professional team, and the Cowboy Action Live Fire team. South River Gun Club has a cowboy town specifically for those exhibitions, Perugino said. The banquet dinner will start at 5 p.m. and feature pork, chicken and beef barbecue with all the trimmings, Perugino said. Dinner will cost $25 per person. A live auction of firearms and equipment will also take place during the day. Many local and state Republican candidates will stop by at various times during the day to meet and greet those attending, Perugino said.

Last year, portions of the event’s proceeds went to candidates who supported gun rights and to the  local GOP’s scholarship fund for graduating seniors.

Perugino said last year that the local party wants to support conservative candidates who believe in Second Amendment rights and enforce the Constitution.